


Young Love

by kv_panda_red



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: 7th grade, Angst, Best friend pidge, Bisexual, Bisexual Lance, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Bisexual Male Character, Bisexuality, Canon Gay Character, Canon Gay Relationship, Childhood Friends, Childhood Memories, Comfort, Coming Out, Fluff, Garrison trio, Gay, Gay Keith, Gay Keith (Voltron), High School, Langst, Lesbian, Lesbian Pidge, Lesbian Pidge | Katie Holt, M/M, Middle School, Pansexual, Pansexual Allura (Voltron), Prom, School Dances, Valentines, Young Love, best friend hunk, gay katie, gay pidge, gay relationship, lesbian katie, pansexual allura, prom dance, valentines dance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-06
Updated: 2018-02-06
Packaged: 2019-03-14 10:49:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13588497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kv_panda_red/pseuds/kv_panda_red
Summary: Childhood frenemies to more?





	Young Love

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so I meant to give pidge they/them pronouns once they enter 7th grade but I'm a mess and i might've confused it along way I'm so sorry

Lance had been best friends with Katie and Hunk since forever. He met Hunk when he was in Kindergarten: He was playing tag with all his friends and he saw Hunk sitting silently next to a teacher. He took it upon himself to invite Hunk to play since then they have been best friends. He met Katie a little after. In third grade, a new student came to their class. The teacher explained that Katie had jumped 2nd grade and moved on to 3rd. At the time nobody cared about that and everyone liked her. Soon enough, the girls didn't want to hang out with her because all she would talk about was Star Wars and Superheroes. The boys didn't want to hang out with her because they thought she was weird. So, Hunk and Lance took her in. They became the infamous trio that all the teachers loved. Lance couldn’t ask for better friends.

Things changed though, in 6th grade. There was a new kid in class named Keith. He didn't talk much and he was very closed off. He wouldn’t play during recess or speak up during class. At first, everyone wanted to be his friend because he was mysterious and sometimes even rebellious. All the girls were crushing on him too (which pissed Lance off because that was his thing). After a while though, everyone deemed him a freak rather than cool and mysterious. Hunk and Katie took pity on him but Lance didn't like him (because he was now the pretty boy). After a while, Katie went behind Lance's back and started talking to Keith. Soon enough, Hunk joined in too. When Lance found out, he felt betrayed but once his friends told him how cool Keith was, he decided he was ok.

Lance and Keith would constantly bicker and compete against each other. It was extremely annoying. They would start a friendly conversation with Hunk and Katie but they would end up screaming at each other. One time Keith got sent home because he made Lance cry. Teachers in attempt to get them to get along would put them together in group projects. This never ended well. They would fight whilst making the project and seldom got things done. Not to mention, if it was an oral presentation, they would fight over who got to say what. Keith wasn’t much of a talker, but when Lance was involved it seemed that he could never stop. There were a few instances that resulted in both of them reciting their presentation at the same time, slowly increasing in speed and volume as they continued; an attempt to one-up the other. After a while, the teacher gave up and decided to completely separate them. This also didn't go well either. Lance practically threw a tantrum and Keith refused to do any work. The teachers were deeply confused but they simply gave up and let them do whatever.

By the time they reached 7th grade their ‘rivalry’ disappeared. They somewhat ‘matured’. Their bickering became less frequent. Still there, of course, but not as often. Once they were put in a group project together and they actually worked pretty well. Not amazing but still good. The teachers were impressed. 

At this point, Katie (now preferred Pidge, since her brother left for boarding school) and Hunk were suspicious. They constantly bickered before but now they were friendly. Pidge and Hunk became accomplices. Keith often times confided in Pidge since his brother was best friends with their brother. Lance always confided in Hunk because he knew he could trust him. Pidge noticed Keith would talk a lot about Lance, he’d throw a few random compliments in there but it was mostly insulting him. Lance did the same with Hunk. Once they noticed this they gathered up information and decided what the next step was. Hunk noticed Lance hadn’t talked about any girls in a while, and he constantly had a crush for as long as Hunk had known him. Keith had never once talked about a crush, which was plain out suspicious in itself. 

Hunk brought up his concerns as subtly as possible. He began talking about his crush, Shay and let himself get teased by Lance. Once he couldn’t bear any more teasing he turned the tables.  
“Well, what about you?”  
“What about me?”  
“Don’t you have a crush on anyone? You always tell me who you crush is!” Lance blushed profusely.  
“I-I don't have a crush.”  
“Are you sure about that?”  
“Yes.”  
“Because the blush on your cheeks says otherwise.” Hunk said, poking Lances cheek. Lance swatted away his hand.  
“I’m sure! I don't like anyone!”  
“That’s not true. Ever since I’ve known you you’ve had your eye on someone!”  
“I don't like anyone, okay?! Why can't I have no crush! Drop it Hunk!” Lance said crossing his arms and looking away. Hunk, taken aback, changed the subject.

When Pidge touched the subject of crushes it went much better with Keith.  
“I don't know, but I really like them,” said Pidge.  
“C’mon! Who is it? You’re being so ambiguous.”  
“Well, I won't say a thing more unless you spill.” Keith rolled his eyes but the blush on his face was evident.  
“Well, they are quite tall at least taller than me-“  
“Thank you for narrowing it down to 90% of our school.”  
“Shut up! Says the midget!”  
“Fine, fine. Keep going.”  
“They’re very smart and really nice actually. They are pretty sporty and—I don't know. They’re actually pretty annoying I don't know why but I like them.”  
“What’s their gender?”  
“Wh-what?”  
“Whats their gender? Girl or boy?”  
“I-I don't. I’m not-“ Keith tried to talk but gave up and covered his face.  
“Hey, it’s okay… calm down,” Pidge thought for a minute. “If I tell you the gender of my crush will you tell me yours?”  
“I don't know,” Keith said, peeking at her between his fingers.  
“Well, I’m gonna tell you and you better not back out on me.”  
“What?”  
“This is actually harder than I thought—shit—ummm… can you promise me something?”  
“Yeah?”  
“If I tell you can you promise me you won’t judge me? And you’ll still be my friend?”  
“Of course. Nothing could make me not be your friend—you’re my best friend.” Pidge smiled a this.  
“Okay, well this is it. I’m gonna tell you. Any second now… any second…”  
“Pidge.”  
“Okay! Okay, sorry. I’ve just never told anyone.”  
“Well, if you tell me, I’ll tell you too.”  
“Really?”  
“Yeah.”  
“Okay, I can do this…” Pidge took a deep breath and closed her eyes, “It’s a girl.” Pidge waited with their eyes closed for Keith to say something. Anything; a slur, a scream, a name… but nothing came. They waited a few more seconds until they slowly opened her eyes. They almost expected Keith to have stormed out but they were met with Keith near tears.  
“Keith? Are you okay? You’re not mad?”  
“No…I-I’m happy,” Keith said and pulled Pidge into a hug. Pidge was surprised but hugged back. Suddenly relief washed over them and they felt themselves get teary eyed.  
“Its a boy,” Keith said after a while. Pidge pulled away.  
“What?”  
“M-my crush. It's a boy.” Pidge couldn't help the smile that blossomed onto her face.  
“You’re…?”  
“Yeah. You too…?”  
“Yeah.” They hugged again. Their tears of joy mixed with their laughter resulting in a weird choked sob sound coming from their mouths. For a while they stayed like that, hugging and enjoying the silent solidarity and comfort in each other. Once they composed themselves, they pulled apart.  
“You cant tell anyone, okay?” said Keith.  
“Of course not. Same here. You’re the only person that knows.”  
“You too. Though, I’m pretty sure Shiro figured it out when I accidentally said that may make a wish would be to have Chirs Evans kiss me.”  
“How do you accidentally say that?”  
“It happens. I thought he wasn't there.” Keith said blushing and scratching the back of his neck.  
“Well, that kinda happened to me and Matt. I said I was in love with Vanessa Hudgens and that’s why I watched high school musical every day. I also said that Ryan was my spirit animal. And cmon he’s obviously gay and that relationship with Kelsi was so forced.”  
“I know right? Disney, step up your game. Let Ryan be gay.”  
“Yeah… Maybe we should keep it down though. My parents like to lean on doors and listen to conversations.”

Pidge informed Hunk that progress had been made but, obviously didn't say all the details. Hunk was pretty bummed after Lance’s outburst. He and Lance were very close, it hurt him that Lance was obviously hiding something from him. Not to mention, Lance seemed a bit on edge for the next few days after their conversation. He would sometimes even avoid Hunk! 

The truth is, Lance was confused. He was really confused and scared. This was the first time he’d ever had strong feelings for someone and it was for a guy. A guy! He’d never felt any sort of attraction to a guy and here he was falling for one. He was confused about his feelings. He was scared of what other people would think. Especially his family. His family was very religious and his dad had been caught saying homophobic remarks more than once. He wasn’t gay. At least he thought so. He wasn't sure. 

Now, to add to his problems, he’d alienated himself from Hunk, and Keith and Pidge were hanging out more often than they used to. What if they were dating? Oh god, Lance thought he would die if that happened. 

Meanwhile, Pidge and Keith had indeed been growing close. Their queer bond gluing them together like Siamese twins. They would discuss queer problems and rights together and feel free to say whatever they wanted. They understood each other. They were so happy to be able to be free and say whatever they want. Being able to say ‘I’m gay’ jokes at all times and make jokes about not being able to do things straight. One time in algebra class Keith suddenly couldn’t stop laughing. Pidge was confused at first until Keith showed her the most ungodly, un-straight line ever drawn and then they burst out laughing as well. Lance asked what was so funny, their laughter died, they looked at each other and then at Lance and then at the line and burst out laughing again. Pidge managed to utter that it was an inside joke which resulted in Lance crossing his arms and pouting.

Lance had been desperately trying to deny his feelings but it wasn't working out too well. Especially after a fateful day during History class. That day had been particularly boring; professor Iverson decided to talk extra slow about the aqueducts of the Aztecs. Lance had noticed that Keith—yes, Keith was his stupid crush— had been very sleepy this morning. He didn't know why but, he did know Keith was really cute when he was sleepy. And somehow even cuter when he was sleeping. Keith slowly dazed off in class and fell asleep on his desk. Lance gave up completely on listening to their lesson and decided to pay attention to his crush. He couldn’t help but wonder why he was so sleepy. What if he had stayed up all night talking to Pidge? Or texting with Pidge? Or thinking about Pidge? They had to be dating so Keith wouldn’t have time to think of Lance. Lance found himself getting irritated at Pidge despite his deduction being very off. 

Soon enough Keith began to wake up. Whilst he stirred awake, Lance couldn't help the smile that bloomed on his face. Keith was just too damn cute! How could someone be so cute? It had to be illegal. Keith looked around and probably noticed Lance staring but it was just so hard to stop looking! He had to look away though. Then he felt stupid for staring and now Keith probably thought he was weird and didn't want to be his friend anymore and-

Meanwhile, Keith was internally screaming because he’d just caught his crush looking at him with love eyes whilst he was sleeping. Keith cursed Lance’s stupid dimples and his stupid blue eyes as he felt himself blush profusely. 

After that, Lance was over it. He had a crush on Keith. A boy. His friend. And though he was still confused about his feeling, he was accepting them. The first step to getting Keith to like him back was to get him and Pidge to break up! He composed the perfect ‘Make Keith Fall In Love With Me’ plan throughout that next weekend and started with step one on Monday. Whilst brainstorming he realized that Pidge and Keith hadn’t told him or Hunk that they were dating so he had to make sure they actually were dating. During lunchtime on Monday, he grabbed Pidge before she joined Keith for lunch. Pidge might have screamed when he grabbed her arm and dragged her to the nearest Janitor closet but it was worth it.  
“Lance, what the fuck?!”  
“Pidge, language! Calm down!”  
“Why are you kidnapping me? You know you are my friend and you could’ve just told me: ‘Hey Pidge I wanna talk to you’. You didn't have to give me a heart attack!”  
“Sorry, I just thought we’d need some privacy.”  
“What do you mean?”  
“For your confession.”  
“What?”  
“I know about you and Keith.” Pidge’s face went from annoyance to fear in .5 seconds.  
“Y-you do?”  
“Yes.”  
“H-how?”  
“I’ve had my suspicions for a while. When were you planning on telling me and Hunk?”  
“I don't know, we hadn’t talked about that. The whole thing was very sudden.”  
“You suddenly started dating?”  
“It was—wait, what?”  
“You guys are dating, right?” Pidge stood there in shock for a few seconds and then burst out laughing. “Whats so funny?”  
“Keith and I aren't dating! We just…we shared a few secrets with each other that made us closer… I thought you knew our secrets… Don't ever scare me like that again, you punk!” Pidge said punching Lance on the arm.  
“Ow! Sorry… wait, so you’re both single?”  
“Yes… Why? Whats it to you?” Lance suddenly blushed profusely.  
“N-nothing! Thanks for clarifying!” Lance said, leaving quickly. Pidge broke into a knowing smirk.

Pidge and Hunk traded information quickly before Lunch. Hunk hadn’t gotten anything but Pidge’s information was positively riveting. As they sat down they noticed they’d left Keith and Lance alone. They were both engaged in a nice conversation with light blushes on their faces. 

Pidge decided that coming out to the rest of their friends would be a good idea. Keith was opposed at first, scared that their friends would hate them. Pidge reassured Keith that that would not happen. She kept herself composed despite being very nervous herself. They planned it out perfectly.

They decided that it was the time they all had a sleepover. At first, Colleen was on edge about having three boys and one girl in a sleepover but then realized that Keith would always stay over so why not the other two boys. She had a weird feeling that the probability of something happening to her daughter was low; she’d met all the boys and she trusted them (plus she was pretty sure they were queer so she wasn’t concerned they would do something). She pushed all bad thoughts aside and let them have a sleepover. In said sleepover, Pidge and Keith decided they would come out before they all went to sleep.

In the sleepover, they played Mario Kart and watched a ton of movies. They ate lots of junk food that Colleen begrudgingly gave them. After watching a few movies, Colleen urged them to go to sleep. Although reluctantly they all went up to Pidge's room, where they set up their sleeping bags. After Colleen give the kids a quick goodnight; Keith and Pidge decided it was time.

“Hey, guys,” Pidge said in a nervous tone.  
“Whats up?” said Lance.  
“Is something wrong? Are you cold? Do you need me to get Colleen to get you another blanket?”  
“No! Hunk, relax.”  
“Sorry for caring about your well being.”  
“Whatever… Keith and I have to tell you guys something.”  
“Okay,” said Lance.  
“You might wanna sit down for this,” said Pidge.  
“We are literally lying on the floor.”  
“I know! What I mean is that this is serious and we want your full attention.” Hunk and Lance shifted to sit and face Keith and Pidge.  
“Okay, you have our full attention,” said Lance. Pidge cleared her that so Keith would talk.  
“Umm… well, you two may have noticed that Pidge and I have grown pretty close in these past few months.”  
“I know for sure Lance has,” Pidge muttered. Lance blushed slightly.  
“What?”  
“Nothing.”  
“Well… there’s a reason. Pidge and I were talking one night and we realized we had something in common. Something really big.”  
“And we hope that just like it did to us; telling you this will make us all closer.”  
“I hope that you guys are okay with it. I-if you’re not okay with it—we aren’t afraid to leave you guys behind…this is who we are and if you don’t like it we’ll just walk away.”  
“If you don't like though, we just hope you don't tell anyone. This is really big and it could potentially get us in trouble.”  
“What are you talking about?” asked Hunk, concerned. Keith and Pidge closed their eyes and took a deep breath.  
“We’re gay,” they said together, keeping their eyes closed in fear. They slowly opened their eyes when Hunk ran over to them and hugged them.  
“I’m so happy for you two! I’m so happy that you accepted yourselves! I’m so happy you trusted us enough to tell us! I’m just so happy! Just know that I support you fully! I’ll even be your wingman! I want you guys to be in gay healthy relationships and I will protect you no matter what!” Hunk said happily, letting a few tears slip,” I will break anyone's leg for you.” He said looking at them in the eyes. Their eyes widened. They shared a look and burst into tears.  
“I’m so happy too! I was so scared you were gonna hate us!” said Pidge hugging Hunk again.  
“I could never hate you guys! You guys are my best friends and I physically could never live without you.”  
“I’m so gay too. Pun intended,” said Keith hugging Hunk again.  
“Oh my god! Gay Keith so much funnier than regular Keith.” Keith pulled away.  
“I didn’t just turn gay!”  
“I know, I know; I’m just kidding.” There was a brief silence. Hunk turned towards Lance. Lance sat still in shock, red in the face. “Lance?” Lance seemed to snap out of it.  
“I-I’m sorry! I w-was just shocked! It’s okay guys! I support you! I’m okay with it! I think its great! I happy for you! I’m gay for you even— I mean—like happy— like Keith just said y’know the pun! I’m not gay, I-I’m happy. Not that there’s anything wrong with that! I-I think it-its great! It’s just not for me! I mean, i-it isn’t me! I’m not gay…” Lance sighed, “ What I’m trying to say is I still love you two no matter what. Same as Hunk. Pretend that was a lot more graceful than it was. Please.” Lance said, joining in on the hug.  
“I’m never gonna forget that,” Pidge whispered in Lance’s ear. Lance pouted.  
They hugged for a little bit and all fell asleep. All but one. Lance stayed wide awake thinking about what just happened. Keith was gay. His crush liked boys. He was a boy. When he heard his two friends utter those words, at first, he felt stupid for thinking they were dating, then he felt a rush joy thinking about Keith being gay. Then he began to blush profusely for thinking about them dating, now that he had a chance. Then he felt a rush of panic as he realized what he was feeling. Was he gay? He didn't understand what was going on. He was falling for a boy, that had never happened to him. Then Hunk called him. He snapped out of it quickly but he remained flustered and messed up a bit. He got an idea. He knew this might be stereotypical but he thought that if he asked a gay person he could figure out if he was gay. He couldn’t ask Keith, so he got up and nudged Pidge. Pidge stirred.  
“Fuck off,” they mumbled.  
“Pidge, wake up.”  
“No.”  
“Please. I really need to talk to you.” Pidge opened their eyes and stared and Lance. She noticed he looked distressed.  
“Fine. What is it?”  
“Can it be outside?”  
“Fine.”  
As they walked outside, careful not to wake the other two, Pidge noticed Lance seemed very anxious. They questioned why he was like this but decided not to pry, he’d been acting weird since they came out. Besides, he wanted to talk about something. They made their way downstairs to the couch. Lance took a deep breath. Pidge raised their eyebrow at this.  
“How did you know you were gay?” Pidge was a bit shocked by the question.  
“Umm…well, I guess it was a lot of things. I never really got along with other girls as friends, though it is stereotypical, I just didn’t have the same interest as the rest. I tried many times to be nice to girls but when I was they would talk about boys and I never liked any of them. Sometimes, girls that had crushes on you guys would try to make me their wingman rather than their friend. Then I started getting crushes on girls and that was the moment when I knew. I looked up a lot of things. At first, I tried to convince myself that I was bisexual even though I’d never liked a guy. But then-“  
“Wait. Bisexual?”  
“Yeah?”  
“What is that?”  
“Bisexuality is when you like two genders. It can be boys and girls, girls and non-binary, boys and non-binary, etc.”  
“So you can like boys and girls?”  
“Yeah.”  
“That would just make you bisexual?”  
“Correct.”  
“So…hypothetically speaking, if I have always liked girls my whole life and then suddenly, hypothetically, I started liking a guy. And I mean, really liking a guy. Liking like I would like a girl. But he’s a boy. Hypothetically speaking, would that make me bisexual?”  
“Yes, maybe you have a leaning towards girls… if the guy is feminine maybe you lean more towards femininity. The sudden attraction towards a guy could be a sign of your sexual awakening. That's a good thing… Why are you asking?” Pidge said, smirking knowingly.  
“Oh! Uhhh… nothing. Just a hypothetical question. Its kinda hot in here don't you think,” Lance faked a yawn, “I’m kinda tired let's go to sleep shall we?”  
“Yeah, lets,” Pidge said. They knew what was happening but she decided not to pry. They knew that Lance needs to come out to himself before he came out to anyone else so she let it go.  
The next day, as they ate pancakes, Pidge noticed the way Lance was looking at Keith. Now, this happened frequently, it was not out of the norm at this point but, it was different this time. Pidge noticed that his stare was more longing and not confused or frustrated. His face was relaxed into a small smile and slight blush. Often times he'd look like at Keith and suddenly look away and let out a frustrated sigh or hit himself in the head. Pidge waited for him to regret his staring but it never came. When he did look away, he'd look down at his hands and fidget. Pidge smiled, knowing they’d helped their friend.

 

(*****)  
It had been exactly one week after the trio’s sleepover. Somehow word had gotten out that they were queer. At first, people wouldn’t sit with them but suddenly one of the most popular girls from 8th grade approached them at lunch.  
“Hey, can I sit with you guys?” said Allura, starting to put her tray down in between Keith and Lance.  
“Uumm..y-yes,” said Lance, shocked that the prettiest girl in school would sit with them.  
“Whatever,” said Keith, crossing his arms. Allure ignored the grumpiness and deemed it cute. Pidge though, kicked him from under the table.  
“So I hear, people are ignoring you…”  
“Yeah, it's really weird…” said Pidge.  
“You don't know why?”  
“Nope,” said Hunk.  
“Well, rumor says two of you are in the queer community.” All of them looked shocked and scared.  
“W-what?” asked Pidge.  
“Its ok if you are, I’m queer myself. I’m pansexual.”  
“What?” asked Hunk.  
“I’m attracted to all genders. What about you?”  
“O-oh you got it wrong I'm straight.”  
“What about you?” she asked Pidge.  
“Gay.”  
“And you?” she asked Keith  
“G-gay.”  
“And you?” she asked Lance. Lance stayed quiet and looked away. “Not a talker, hmm… What are your names?”  
“I’m Katie but I go by Pidge.”  
“I’m Hunk.”  
“I’m Keith.”  
“I-I’m Lance.”  
“That’s nice, I’m Allura. I’m very pleased to meet you all, I hope we can be good friends.”  
“What?” asked Lance, “You want to be friends with us?”  
“Yes! Us LGBT people should unite! I’ll need your phone numbers for all queer inquiries.”  
“What about me?” asked Hunk.  
“You can join in too. You are surrounded by queer people. You are part of the gay culture.”  
“Okay?”  
“It sounds weird, but you are here to support us. We will then support you. We’ll be your wingmen. You’ll be ours. It's a symbiotic relationship.”  
“What about Lance?” asked Keith, slightly blushing. Pidge smiled knowingly.  
“What about him?”  
“He’s also straight,” Keith said, his tone a bit sad.  
“Oh. Right,” said Allura.  
“Well,” started Lance, “I-I’m not… Not straight.”  
“Really?” said Allura, excited.  
“Nope,” Lance said laughing nervously.  
“Really?” asked Keith, blushing.  
“I was planning on telling you guys soon but I was scared… I don't know why.”  
“So you are…?” asked Allura.  
“I’m bisexual. I like boys and girls—mostly girls—but boys too.”  
“Well that's good to know!” she got closer to Lance and whispered, “We can gush about people together,” she said winking. Lance blushed a little, then he looked over at Keith. Keith was red with his arms crossed and a cute little pout. Lance broke into a full blush.  
“He’s cute,” whispered Allura after seeing where he looked.  
“W-what? Who?”  
“You know who.” Lance somehow blushed more, making Allura laugh.  
From then on, people stopped ignoring them, in fact, people often approached them to ask what they did to get Allura to be their friend. Allura ate with them every lunchtime and sometimes she’d hang out with them after school. They became somewhat popular in relation.  
Soon it was time for the Valentines school dance. Lance found himself being asked out by a ton of girls, it hurt to turn them down—they were pretty girls— but he knew who he wanted to go with and if he had even the slightest chance, he had to take it. When he met Allura she had said they could gush over people together so he quickly went to her about this. They had figured out really quickly that he liked Keith so he went along with it. Of course, this made Hunk feel left out and soon enough he joined in. The group chat, ‘Pining Lance™’, was created for Lance vent to his two friends. Once the word got out about the Valentines dance, Allura and Hunk started helping Lance plan how to ask Keith out.  
The valentines dance was on Friday, the 14th, today was the 12th. On this day, Lance finally got the balls to ask Keith out. You might be thinking: Finally! But…it doesn’t work out too well.  
Lance was dressed his best, with a blue button up shirt and some blue jeans. He had actually brushed his hair and was practically drowning in cologne and snorting breath mints. When the time came during lunch, he took out the small bouquet of flowers from his locker. He had bought red roses along with a bit of baby's breath. He had spent his week's allowance on the bouquet and was completely okay with it. He double checked his hair and decided he was ready.  
As he made his way to where Allura had told him Keith was, he was met with something heart-wrenching. Rolo, the most popular guy in 8th grade, was holding a gigantic bouquet of roses, a heart-shaped box of chocolates and a big sign that said: ‘Will you to the dance with me, Keith?’  
Keith looked nervous, as he was surrounded by practically whole school population, all anxious for his answer. Keith was practically trapped and he felt on the verge of a panic attack. All these eyes on his were freaking him out. he looked around for a familiar face, to plead for help, then he saw it. Lance. He saw his face dissolve into a deep frown, at first he was confused until he saw the bouquet of roses he held. Lance looked down and squeezed the bouquet and ran off. Keith suddenly got a surge of confidence and ran off after him. He heard people calling him back but he kept going.  
He couldn’t find him. He looked all of the lunch period for Lance but he failed miserably. Not to mention people kept stopping him to ask why he’d run off and how he could turn down Rolo. He even ran into Rolo himself, who pulled him aside.  
“Rolo, what are you doing?!” said Keith as he was pushed into a janitors closet.  
“I’m sorry.”  
“What?”  
“You probably felt really pressured by everyone looking at you like that. I just want you to know you don't need to feel pressured. Now that no one is giving you any stress, I’d like to do it again.”  
“Rolo-“  
“No, let me,” Rolo took the box of chocolates that where in his backpack, “Will you be my date for the Valentines dance?”  
“I-I’m sorry but no. I would love to, you’re a nice guy and I’d be lying if I didn't have a teeny tiny crush on you when I got in the school but… I have to look for Lance. I wanna go with him and I think he was gonna ask me but… I think all you things intimidated him.”  
“Oh… well, that’s okay,” Rolo said through gritted teeth, though Keith didn’t notice, “I can help you find him.”  
“Really?”  
“Yeah! I just wanted to show you a good time—I’m sure your crush could do better.” Keith blushed.  
“I-I’m —he’s not my-“  
“Oh c’mon Keith. You couldn’t be more crystal clear.”  
“Thanks, Rolo.”  
“No problem, kid.”  
Rolo ruffled Keith's hair as he opened the door. As Keith exited, followed by Rolo, he was met by Lance, still holding the bouquet and with a shocked look. This time Lance didn't run he just froze in shock. Keith was shocked as well as he slowly processed the situation. His hair was messy, he was probably still blushing a little and he had just come out of a closet with Rolo. When it clicked, he immediately tried to patch things up.  
“Lance, it's not what it looks like.” Lance’s expression suddenly changed into anger.  
“I don't care, Keith! I hope you have fun at the dance!” Lance said, squeezing the bouquet once again frustration. He was tempted to throw it to the ground but it had cost him his allowance so he didn't.  
“Lance-“ Keith started but before he could finish Lance was gone.  
As Keith saw Lance walk away, he couldn’t help the tears that gathered in his eyes. Before, he started crying in front of everyone he quickly ran off in the other direction to a bathroom.  
Lance ran off, tears gathering in his eyes. He couldn’t believe he’d thought he could have a chance with Keith. Keith was the prettiest boy in the school—Lance was nothing compared to him and much less Rolo. Rolo was handsome, popular and older. Lance never stood a chance.  
After school, Keith knew where Lance would be, so he ran to the other side of the school. When he saw Lance he was tired but he felt a surge of energy pushing him forward. As he was making it over to Lance, the boy turned around. When Lance saw him he attempted to make a run for it but Keith was already too close.  
“Lance! Wait, Lance!”  
“Go away!”  
“Lance Carlos McClain Sanchez!”  
“Don't use my full name!”  
“Please, listen to me!”  
“Fine,” Lance said and he looked at his watch, “ you have 5 minutes until mamá gets here.”  
“Okay, look, I’m not going to the dance with Rolo. He asked me, in front of everyone. I was too scared to say no so I just stood there frozen. Then I saw you, you looked really sad and then you ran off with the bouquet. I ran off too, looking for you. As I was looking for you, I bumped into Rolo again. He pushed me into the janitors closet and tried to ask me again with more privacy. I said no because— I was looking for you. He said he’d help me, he ruffled my hair and opened the door. Then you were there.” Keith said, Lance looked at him for any sign of lies but he didn't find any.  
“Oh. I’m sorry I got mad at you.”  
“Its okay, I’m just glad that you forgive me… Anyway,” Keith said and rubbed the back of his neck, “who are those flowers for? You’ve been carrying them around since lunch.” Lance blushed.  
“I-I was gonna— They’re for you,” Lance extended his arm. “I was wondering if you’d like to go to the dance with me?”  
“I’d love to,” Keith said and took the bouquet to hide his blush.  
“Alright, it’s a date.” Keith’s eyes widened.  
“It is?”  
“I-I mean, o-only if you want it to be. We could just go as friends if you want…”  
“No, I want it to be a date.”  
“Then that’s what it is.”  
“Good.”  
“Good.” then there was a loud car honking.  
“I hate to break this up but I’m hungry Lance!” yelled Lance’s sister through the car window.  
“Lorena!” scolded their mom.  
“I’m hungry mamá!”  
“That’s my cue…”  
“Yeah, thanks for the flowers.”  
“No problem.” There was a small silence, they stood in place.  
“Alright, bye,” Lance said turning around.  
“Wait, Lance!”  
“What?” Keith shyly approached Lance and hugged him. After Lance hugged back, Keith sneaked in a kiss on Lance’s cheek. The car honked again, making Lance pull away from the hug with a blush and a dopey smile.

~~~  
Twas the day of the dance, school had ended early to let students prepare. Keith sat at Pidge’s room, letting them braid his hair. He fiddled nervously with his hands. He was scared, he’d never been on a date before and he was going on a date with his crush. It was nerve wrecking.  
“Keith, relax.”  
“That’s easy for you to say! You’re on pg duty. You have to make sure no one has sex on the floor! You’re not going on a date with your crush!”  
“Keith, you have to remember that you're his crush too.”  
“How do you know that? Maybe he pities me.”  
“Keith, when he saw Rolo asking you out he almost cried! He went over to Allura and Hunk to tell them how he was helpless. He likes you, you’re probably the reason he realized he was bi.”  
“What? No, don't say that.”  
“Keith, the night we came out he asked me how I knew that I was gay. He said that hypothetically if he really started liking a guy if that would make him bisexual. It was quite obvious he was talking about you.” Pidge finished the braid with a bobby pin, “Okay, finished.” Keith looked in the mirror and touched the braid that ran across the side of his head.  
“Thanks, it looks really nice.” He stood up and straightened his red button-up shirt. He took a deep breath.  
“Keith, calm down. If you don't have a good time I’ll give you $20 and a pint of your favorite ice cream. If you do have a good time, you get to buy the ice cream and we share.”  
“Now you’re just making me wish I had a bad time.” Pidge laughed.  
“It’s called condolences.” The doorbell rung. “That’s your boy.”  
They went downstairs when Pidge finished putting their shoes on. They had a green button up long sleeve shirt with a black skirt and black shoes with a small heel. She helped Keith put on his black bowtie. He wore a red button up long sleeve shirt with some black dress pants and shoes. When they got downstairs, they were met with Lance and Hunk. Lance wore a blue button up shirt with some black dress pants and shoes, along with a red bowtie. Hunk wore a white shirt with a yellow heart pattern, with some black dress pants and shoes. Lance’s mom was there as well, wearing casual clothing.  
“Oh, Keith, you look so amazing! I need a picture of all of you! So handsome,” said Lance's mom. She made them all pose for pictures.  
“Remember to smile!” said Mrs. Holt. They posed in order from tallest to shortest. After many poses and funny faces;  
“Alright, now just Keith and Lance,” Lance’s mother said, making Pidge and Hunk back off with smug looks. Keith and Lance blushed and stood next to each other awkwardly. “No, no.” Lance’s mom gave her camera to Mrs. Holt and approached them. “Hmm, Lance is a bit taller, stand behind him,” Lance stood behind Keith, “Mira, así,” she said and put Lance’s arms around Keith, making Keith blush even more. “Bien.”  
She took a ton of pictures, probably more than necessary whilst Pidge stifled laughter. Pidge was bad at stifling their laughter though. They ignored her until Keith got annoyed.  
“Why are you laughing?” asked Keith. Pidge broke into full laughter. “What the hell, Pidge?!”  
“Y-you’re r-redder than you sh-shirt!” Pidge said laughing even harder when Keith somehow got redder. But this blush was anger, he broke away from Lance’s grasp and tried to kill Pidge. Of course, Pidge ran off before he could.  
They went to the car with Lances mom. When they got in Lances mom said something in Spanish that no one understood, which quickly escalated into a small argument.  
“Pero, dáselo! Se lo comprastes a el, te vas a volver maricon y no se lo vas a dar?” Lance’s mom said accusingly.  
“Bueno, estoy saliendo con un nene ya estoy bastante maricon.” Lance muttered.  
“Lance Carlos McClain Sanchez!” she scolded.  
“Perdón, perdón,” Lance said looking down.  
“Se lo vas a dar?” she said, voice softening.  
“Esta bien…” once Lance said this, she handed him a bag. He looked down and blushed. “This is for you…” Lance said and handed it over to Keith. Keith raised an eyebrow and took out the contents of the bag. Inside lay a small plushie of a Hippo and a little blue flower.  
“I knew you would wear red and I would wear blue so I got us matching little flowers,” Lance said and pointed to the little red flower in his pocket. Pidge took the flower and before Keith could threaten her life, they began to put it in his pocket. He muttered a small thanks.  
As they got to the dance, Pidge pulled Keith aside before he could get to the food table.  
“Okay, so as you know I am on Keep it PG duty.”  
“Yeah?”  
“I just want you to know that for being my friend I will let you and Lance go.” Keith quickly punched Pidges arm. “Ow! Sorry for being a good friend.”  
After that, Keith quickly went over to Lance. The first thing that happened was that they stuck by the food table. After a while of eaten too many Cheetos, they decided to join the dance floor. They decided to dance along with Hunk and Shay, but soon enough Shay and Hunk got tired and left. They had warmed up to the dance floor so they stayed, albeit a bit far apart. A few songs in, a slow dance started. Lots of people started leaving the dance floor, leaving the couples and dates. Keith thought about leaving but before he could voice it, Lance had already extended his arm out. At first, they awkwardly tried to figure out who would put their arms around the shoulders and who would put their arms around the waist. Quickly they decided that Lance would put his arms around Keith’s waist since he was taller (‘at the moment!’- Keith). They dance a considerable distance away from each other, at first. Slowly, as they started to get used to the movement and the dancing they began getting closer. When Keith was about to rest his head on Lance’s shoulder, they saw Pidge and pulled away. As Pidge took the roaming hands of a boy away from his date’s ass, they passed by the two boys. They smiled at them innocently and Pidge rolled their eyes. They gave Keith a small push which made him fall flush against Lance’s chest. Pidge sent a thumbs up to Keith and moved on to the couple making out in the corner.  
Soon enough the slow songs were over and the DJ changed it up. They reluctantly pulled apart and went to sit at the table with Hunk and Shay. They talked with Hunk and Shay for a while until the music died down. Principal Alfor made his way up the stage and the students started clapping.  
“Alright, Altea middle school, are you ready to know who the night's king and queen are?” everyone started clapping and cheering.  
“I bet it will be Allura and Rolo,” said Lance.  
“They aren't even here together,” said Keith.  
“Well yeah, but I heard that one time, people voted for these two people that had just broken up in attempt to get them back together. It didn't end well but it happens.”  
“That must have been hella awkward.”  
“Yeah.”  
“Alright kids, I have just been handed the results along with the crowns! Are you excited?” everyone cheered. “Okay, okay. Do you want the king or queen first?”  
“King!”  
“Queen!”  
“King!”  
“Alright kids, that didn't make any sense but I’m gonna go with the King!” Alfor took one of the notes. He opened it and looked at the crowd, then at the paper, then at the crowd. Everyone laughed. “Dare I say I’m not impressed… The King of tonights Valentines dance is… Rolo McNamara!” Cheers erupted as Rolo made his way up the stage. Alfor placed the crown on him.  
“Thank you for voting for me! It’s truly an honor for the third year in a row,” he said with a small laugh. Everyone laughed along.  
“Now, we will announce this nights queen, who will be having the nights dance with the King… And the queen of tonights Valentines dance is…” Now, Alfor opened the paper and looks confused. “Give me a second, I believe there’s been a mix-up.” People started murmuring whilst Alfor stepped backstage to check if the results were correct.  
“What happened?” asked Shay.  
“Maybe both papers say Rolo?” Hunk said jokingly.  
“Maybe he’s confused as to why it's not Allura,” Lance said, joking as well.  
“Pfft, I know I’d be.”  
“Alright, kids. Apparently, this is not a mix-up. This year we have a different strategy with the King and Queen dynamic. I’m all for inclusiveness and equality so, I am quite excited. I hope this doesn’t offend the winner for the title is Queen… the queen of tonights Valentines dance is… Keith Kogane!” People started cheering and Keith looked around confused.  
“Go up there!” said Shay.  
“Go get the crown!” said Hunk. He hesitantly got up. People began patting him on the back and cheering.  
“I can't believe you’re gonna get a dance with Rolo! You are so lucky!”  
“He rejected Rolo! What the fuck?!”  
“He’s so hot!”  
“They would be such a cute couple!”  
“That bitch.”  
“They are such goals!”  
Those were a few of the things he heard whilst walking up to the stage. When he got up there, Alfor placed the crown on Keith.  
“Now, they will commence the King and Qu-King dance.”  
Rolo extended his arm for Keith to take. He hesitantly took it and walked down the stage. Rolo led him to the middle of the dance floor where people had spread out to let them dance. Rolo quickly wrapped his arms around Keith's waist. Keith hesitantly wrapped his arms around Rolos shoulders. As they begun to dance, Keith looked around for Lance. He didn't ask if it was ok to dance with Rolo, even if it was a kind of stupid question. Maybe Lance wouldn’t be so fond of that. He spotted Lance in the crowd, with his arms crossed and a frown. He had the urge to pull away and go to him but at that moment, Rolo pulled him closer.  
“Why are you so distracted?”  
“I’m just looking for Lance.”  
“Why? You’re dancing with me. Don't you think it's a little rude to not pay attention to me?”  
“Oh, umm, sorry,” Keith said and looked down.  
Rolo pulled him closer. Uncomfortably close. Keith tried to pull away a little but he couldn’t. He decided to just relax and keep dancing. Suddenly Rolo’s hands roamed a little low. Keith tried to look for Lance and give a plea for help. Then Rolo’s hands roamed too low. Keith jumped and pulled away. The whole gym got quiet. Rolo looked shocked.  
“Whats wro-“ Rolo started but before he could finish Keith slapped him across the face and walked away. He went over to the table he was at before the announcement, but only Hunk and Shay were there.  
“Where’s Lance?”  
“He ran off,” said Shay.  
“He probably went to the bathrooms.” Keith nodded and was about to go.  
“Wait! Aren’t you supposed to be dancing with Rolo?”  
“He’s a dick,” Keith said and went off to the bathrooms.  
Keith ran off to the bathrooms and he was indeed met with Lance. Lance saw him come in and looked away.  
“Why aren’t you with Rolo?”  
“He’s gross.”  
“Is that so? Then why were you so close to him?”  
“I didn't choose to be close, he pulled me close.”  
“Really?”  
“Yeah and then he groped me and I slapped him.”  
“He what?” Lance said and finally turned around to look at him, it looked like he had cried since his cheek and eyes were red.  
“We were dancing and his hands started roaming down until he went…too low,” Keith said looking down.  
“That’s it! I’m gonna kill him!”  
“Wait! La-“ then Rolo came in.  
“Keith, I’m sorry. I crossed a line that shouldn’t be crossed. Will you forgive me?”  
“No!” Lance said and went over to punch Rolo, but Keith grabbed his hand before he could.  
“Lance, don't. You won't solve anything with violence.” He started dragging Lance away and out the door. “You are a lover, not a fighter.”  
“You’re right.”  
“But I am a fighter.”  
“Wha-“ then Keith punched Rolo square in the face. Rolo fell to the ground and Keith and Lance left.  
A few minutes later they were escorted out of the dance since Rolo told on Keith. Principal Alfor started to lecture them on how violence is never the answer. After a while of the lecture, Lance was sick and tired of it.  
“What did Rolo ever do to you? All he did was ask you to the dance and gave you dance as the King and King of the night. Why did you, not only slap him but, punch him as well?”  
“Maybe because he groped Keith.”  
“Lance!”  
“Look, Keith, I know you ain't no snitch but I have lots of brothers and sisters; I am a total snitch! Professor, when they were having a dance, Rolo groped Keith! You can't tell me that's okay! First of all, Keith didn't want to go the dance with Rolo and then he bribed everyone to vote for him and Keith-“  
“He what?” asked Keith.  
“Lotor told me, he was in charge of the voting booth and he told everyone to vote for you and Rolo for King and Queen. Rolo was gonna give him the answers to the math tests for the rest of the year. So,” Lance turned to Alfor again, which was looking shocked, to say the least, “he did that so he could have a dance with Keith. Then he had the audacity to grope Keith whilst they danced! Tell me, oh tell me, if he doesn't deserve what he got!” Lance finished with a huff.  
Alfor was quiet for a few seconds until he pulled out his phone, “Coran, yes, can you go get Rolo McNamara to my office right now? Thank you. As soon as possible.” He put away his phone with a smile, “Thank you, Lance, you may both return to the dance and enjoy the rest of the night.”  
They returned to the dance and had fun. They danced, they ate and drank some punch that might’ve been spiked with a bit of alcohol. At the end of the night, Pidge’s mom went to pick up Keith and Pidge, they were all saying they’re goodbyes.  
“So, I had lots of fun,” said Lance.  
“Me too,” said Keith.  
“You owe me ice cream,” whispered Pidge and Keith pushed them away.  
“So umm… Maybe we could have more fun some other time and all the time for a while if you want.”  
“What?”  
“Will you be my boyfriend?”  
“That was a really weird way to phrase that question.” Lance rolled his eyes.  
“Will you?”  
“Obviously, you dummy.” Then, as if on queue, Pidge’s mom honked the car. “Well, I gotta go…”  
“Yeah, see you on Monday.”  
“See you on Monday,” Keith said and was about to walk away, but he suddenly got a surge of courage.  
He grabbed Lance’s arm and pulled him close to kiss him on the cheek. After the quick peck, Keith ran off to the car as he blushed furiously. Lance stood frozen for a few seconds until he lifted his hand to the spot Keith had kissed and couldn’t help the dopey smile that formed on his face. Maybe next time he could kiss him on the lips!

**Author's Note:**

> comments and feedback are my kink


End file.
